Jeremy Lin proved on Sunday night why he deserves to start for the Los Angeles Lakers as he led his team to a 101-87 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers at the Staples Center.
Lin, who was dealing with back problems since their 80-73 loss to the Utah Jazz on Thursday, had an all-around performance for the Lakers against the 76ers, tallying 29 points on 10-for-16 shooting from the field to go along with five rebounds and five assists.
The 26-year-old point guard shot just 1-for-8 against the Jazz on Thursday, but earned praises from Lakers coach Byron Scott for playing despite being hobbled by back spasms.
With his performance on Sunday night, the former Harvard University standout is expected to continue getting strong consideration to start again for the Lakers in their final 10 games this season.
Lin was named starter before the 2014-15 NBA season kicked after veteran playmaker Steve Nash was ruled out for the rest of the season due to injury. However, Scott was unimpressed with the way Lin ran their offense in their first 19 games, which led to Ronnie Price taking his spot in the starting lineup.
But with the way Lin has been playing as of late, Scott said last week that Lin might start in their final 10 games of the season. The first-year Lakers coach wants to see if Lin could sustain his impressive run even if he is inserted into the starting lineup again, but most analysts also think that the Lakers want to see if Lin deserves a new deal this summer.
"I want to see how much of a difference it is now as opposed to the start of the season," Scott said. "He knows the offense better and he knows what I need from him every single night on both ends of the floor. Now to see him in a starting role, it would be a little bit of a change."
Lin, who was traded to the Lakers from the Houston Rockets in the offseason, is playing in the final season of the three-year, $25.1 million deal he signed before the 2012-13 NBA season - a season after his famous "Linsanity" moment during his stint with the New York Knicks.
The Lakers improved to 17-50, but are still in 14th place in the Western Conference - just three games ahead of the cellar-dwelling Minnesota Timberwolves (15-54), while the 76ers dropped to 17-52 - the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference.
Highlights of the Lakers-76ers match are available on this link.
